Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Sells 159,645 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 22.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 538,454 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 159,645 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned approximately 0.11% of Caterpillar worth $195,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 10,771 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,907,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Summit X LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 205 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 target price (up previously from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $419.33.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.5%

Caterpillar stock traded up $1.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $429.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,463,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,690,098. The company has a 50 day moving average of $373.81 and a 200-day moving average of $350.94. The stock has a market cap of $202.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $430.16.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.